Hollywood’s Oscar nominations pack political punch

The Oscar nominations are out today and politically charged films are getting some serious recognition.

“You would almost believe that there’s a big pool of Oscar voters in Washington, D.C., this year just given the political movies that have been out,” Variety Magazine political editor Ted Johnson said on Jansing & Co.

Up to 10 films can be nominated in the prestigious best picture category. “Lincoln”, “Argo”, and “Zero Dark Thirty” all received nominations. All three films have also received Golden Globe nods. ”Lincoln” leads the Academy Awards nomination pack with 12.

“I was actually really surprised, especially because there’s this perception that major studio pictures tend to fall on stories about super heroes. They’re action packed. There has to be this immediate tug,” Johnson told msnbc’s Chris Jansing.

So why are these political films drawing so much critical attention now?

“ ‘Lincoln’ feeds into what I would say is a commonality with some of these other political movies. They’re very much about the ends justify the means. We’re seeing a lot of movies about process, the political process, whether it’s bureaucracy of what happens in the halls of Congress. And it’s not always a pretty sight,” said Johnson.

The Golden Globe Awards airs Sunday on NBC. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held Feb. 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.